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Steve Addison: I was asked by a friend in common if I had heard from him, because she was worried, she hadn't heard from him in some time. I contacted an acquaintance who had just returned from Aleppo to Australia, and he was able to confirm he had just heard that Usama had gone missing.When you found out he had gone missing, how did you feel?
Pretty devastated. You know that these things happen in Syria, and particularly in Aleppo. But when it happens, it's still a shock. And I'm concerned about the fact that they let two people go and still bothered to take him. The Spanish journalists have publicity value, and they have financial value. Usama has neither financial nor publicity value. So it worries me in terms of what their intentions may be. Because he doesn't have the value to them that the Spanish journalists do. I suppose [this article] might give him some of that value.What did you do when you heard the news?
I checked with his brother before I did anything. I said, "You're his brother, do you want me to try to get some publicity, or is it going to hurt?" And his view was, "No, after ten days, it can't hurt. If they were going to let him go, they were going to do it by now. We have to do something different." That's when I started trying to get some awareness of the fact that he was taken along with the Spanish journalists.
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It does. And it concerns me. Usama is going out of his way to help journalists, he is risking his life through his fundraising, through the awareness work he's involved in. He's as worthy of a mention as foreign people who go to Aleppo to cover what's happening.So Usama's full-time job is teaching, and he also does fixing and translating for journalists, and some community journalism himself?
The journalism is something that I guess I've tried to engage Usama in. I'd made contact with him through social media. Usama's set up a Facebook page, called A Little Help Is Enough. And he uses it to fundraise, there's quite a network of people on that Facebook site, and quite a few of us will touch base and trade messages through that. Because we all have a common interest in Syria.Since I've been to Jordan last year and went to some of the refugee camps, we've started a bit of a fledgling website where we aim to give people in conflict zones a voice. And Usama has embraced the concept, and got on board. He's mainly been sending in photos at this stage, to post along with a few words about what's been happening in those photos. So he's been pretty keen on the project, and we've spoken a lot, and it's one of the things that's made it quite devastating, because I feel that I've gotten to know him quite well over the past couple of months. We chat on the WhatsApp app, which seems to be the chosen way of chatting in the Middle East, and keep in pretty regular contact.
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He fundraises for school materials and uniforms and clothing, etc.What do you know about how his friends and family in Syria are dealing with his kidnapping?
I've seen an awful lot of support on social media for him. His brother seems to be very much taking charge, which is wonderful. I think one of the sad things is that they are all so accustomed to death and disappearance. And I guess what concerns me most is the lack of hope that I see from people in Aleppo who know about his situation. I think we have a naïve hope in the West that things will be okay. And I don't see any sense of optimism from those who know him best, who are living in Syria.Do you feel weird going into it with that optimism?
It does seem a bit naïve, actually. I think you do what you can, and it's important to document that he is there and what has happened to him. I have every hope that he will be freed, and that he's not being harmed. But it does feel somewhat naïve and optimistic to think that what we're doing in the West could make any difference to what's happening on the ground in Aleppo.And you've been trying to talk to Spanish media about Usama?
I was contacted by the Spanish media, and put them in touch with his Facebook page, in the hope that he would be included in the story. And they have lifted the photos, they have sourced them to him, and not mentioned him at all, which is pretty disappointing. And I've been quite angry about that.
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That's right, I was very clear.Has it been frustrating so far trying to talk about Usama in the media?
I've found local media extremely helpful. International media seems to be disinterested in anyone who's not Western.
Amnesty International's London office confirmed that Addison had contacted them. "Our research team has been checking with our Syria contacts to try to find out more information but have no news at this time. We will continue to look into the matter," a spokeswoman said.In an email to Steve, Reporters Without Borders said it had included Usama's name in a press release, but "Unfortunately, at the time of the writing, we did not know much about him so we only put one sentence.""Now you that you sent me this useful [information]," the email went on, "I'll make sure to mention him and his work in our next publication or in any contact with people we have."Follow Carla on Twitter.